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Hawkins joins list of injured Minor League prospects

2013 MLB.com Top Prospects: Courtney Hawkins has a strong outfield arm and has shown the ability to turn around any fastball

By Scott Merkin
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MLB.com |

ARLINGTON -- The 2013 White Sox injury woes have not been limited to the Major League level.

Jared Mitchell, the team's top pick in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, already was sidelined by a strained right oblique as part of Double-A Birmingham. And now Courtney Hawkins, the team's top pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft and 13th selection overall, left Wednesday night's game for Class A Winston-Salem with a left shoulder strain after diving for a ball in the outfield.

Hawkins, 19, will undergo an MRI exam on Friday in Winston-Salem and then be evaluated by White Sox doctors in Chicago early next week. The club's No. 1 prospect, according to MLB.com, had seven homers in 79 at-bats for the Dash but also was hitting just .177.

Keon Barnum, who was taken 48th overall in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft as a supplemental round selection, injured his left knee as the White Sox were ready to send the first baseman to Class A Kannapolis. Barnum had March surgery for a right hamate bone fracture and was working his way back.

Scott Merkin is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Merk's Works, and follow him on Twitter @scottmerkin. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.